Our Naming Gift

The Baskin School of Engineering and the Baskin Engineering Building are named for engineer and retired developer Jack Baskin, a tireless champion and visionary benefactor of UC Santa Cruz. This naming recognizes Jack Baskin's "extraordinary generosity to the campus and his remarkable role in the growth and development of the engineering program," former Chancellor M.R.C Greenwood said. Patrick Mantey, former dean of the Baskin School of Engineering, describes Baskin's role as "a driving force in the establishment of the engineering school and the rapid expansion of our programs."

In 1983, Baskin endowed a chair in computer engineering and aided in the establishment of a computing center, helping to initiate the Computer Engineering program at UC Santa Cruz. In 1997, he gave what was then the largest gift in the history of the campus, launching the Baskin School of Engineering.

Baskin is a former trustee and former president of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation and has been involved with the campus for more than 30 years. He has supported numerous campus programs and activities in addition to the Baskin School of Engineering, including the Institute of Marine Sciences, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, an endowed chair in psychology, a scholarship in literature, and instruction in the arts.